Oil mop

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to an oil mop for use by an individual person for removing oil from the top of an oil-water mixture and is directed to the use of narrow thin gauge strips of a petrophilic, aerophobic, hydrophobic material such as fibrillated polypropylene which when dipped into oil and water sops up the oil and leaves the water. A mop so constructed is attached to a handle and may be passed over the oil covered surface similar to mopping a floor and the oil wrung out into any container.

United States Patent [1 1 Rhodes [11] 3,748,682 July 31, 1973 OIL MOP [75] Inventor: Herbert M. Rhodes, New Orleans,

[73] Assignee: Oil Mop, Inc., New Orleans, La.

[22] Filed: July 27, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 166,458

[52] US. Cl. 15/229 R, 210/D1G. 2] [51] Int. Cl A471 13/20, E02b 15/04 [58] Field of Search 15/229 R, 229 A,

15/229 AP, 229 B, 229 BP, 226, 147 R, 147 A, 147 B, 147 C; 28/D1G. 1; 210/D1G. 21

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,686,328 8/1954 Kirby 15/229 R 3,520,017 7/1970 Moss 15/229 R 3,321,903 5/1967 Tanzer... 15/229 R X 3,596,816 8/1971 Brown.... 28/D1G. 1 3,607,791 9/1971 Shell 210/D1G. 21

OTHER PUBLICATIONS Article Entitled Yarns from Film Fibrillation, Modern Textile Magazine, July 1967, pp. 29 and 30.

Primary Examiner-Daniel Blum Attorney-A. Robert Theibault [57] ABSTRACT 1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures 6/1972 Burroughs et al. 2l0/D1G. 21

PATENFEU 3 3. 748.682

INVENTOR Hansen M wanes OIL MOP An object of the present invention is the provision of an inexpensive quickly attached mop which may be quickly applied by an individual or group of individuals to quickly protect the shore line from an oil or gas spillage to protect for example a shore line or dock facility.

Another object of the present invention is the application of a mop to oil which will pick up only the oil and leave the water.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. I is a side elevational view of a mop constructed wide mop. The properties of the thin gauge narrow strips of polypropylene are shown and described in my copending US. Pat. application Ser. No. 52,448 filed July 6, 1970, now US. Pat. No. 3,668,118 patented June 6, I972, entitled AN OIL MOP AND METHOD OF USING SAME. An example of the narrow thin gauge strips are polypropylene 2.0 mils thick by inch wide by 36 inches long.

The mop head 10 is attached to a handle 13 by clamping at 14 in a conventional manner.

The mop is employed in the same manner as a floor mop in its motion for removing oil from the surface of water. The mop when dipped into oil and water sops the oil and leaves the water. With an ordinary squeezer the mop is'wrung out into any container to collect the oil.

What I claim is:

1. An oil mop for removing oil from the surface of water comprising a plurality of lengths of narrow thin gauge strips of polypropylene of the order of 2.0 mils thick by 1 8 inch wide, means joining the lengths of strips of polypropylene in an area proximate the midpoints of their length, and handle means secured to said joined area to fashion same into an oil mop so that only the oil is removed from an oil water mixture. 

